Copper Paintings by Renee Lammers

"Winter at Bradley Wharf" 8x8 Oil on Copper panel.  450$ Framed in gold wood and shipped for free!

     I went out this morning in Bearskin Neck hoping to find a place to paint.  It was pouring down rain.



     I thought about painting inside of my car.  I couldn't find a view from my car I wanted to paint.  The rain was making the snow go away!  I didn't want to paint outside.  Rain would get my plein aire easel wet.  This could be a problem!  When wood gets wet it warps.  So I decided to head by to John's house.  I set up my computer monitor.  John was still sleeping.  He likes to stay up very very late and sleep in like a cat does!  So I was very quiet downstairs painting away!  I think it was 1:00 pm before John woke up.  What a life!  I worked all morning, afternoon, and evening until 5:00 pm on my painting.  John came over to take a look.  He suggested I straighten out a snowy walkway down to the skiffs.  I did this and was pleased with the results. 

     John is spending all his days trying to crop photos of paintings.  This is a very important skill painters need to possess.  I like my photo software Adobe.  He has several other softwares on two different computers.  He has a painting leaning up against something.  He looks at his painting and then at the photo on the computer screen to make sure the image colors and values are the exact same.  If not then he lightens or increases or uses autofix.  The autofix on some photosoftwares overexaggerate colors and make a mess of a photo of the painting.  It is difficult watching the process.  I offer my help reading photo image requirements to plein aire events.  I did suggest he better crop the photo.  The painting image should never have any frame fragment, shadow, or other object other than the painting.  I know jurors look at badly cropped images negatively.  As soon as he is finished with all of the plein aire event submissions and painting contest submissions we will leave to drive to Florida for the Wekiva Plein aire invitational.  Hopefully the weather will improve here!  It is still beautiful.  John's coal stove is wonderfully warm!  The cat liked watching me paint, Luna.



     Daisy and Duke had a great day because Robert was home with them.  He said they followed him all over the house.  They miss me!  Ahhh...so sweet.  Have a great night!  I will paint tomorrow too!

     Today I drove from Maine to Bearskin Neck in Rockport, Mass to stay with my painter friend John Caggiano.  You can visit his website here:  Http://www.JohnCaggiano.com  His gallery is located right on the ocean here amongst this quaint neighborhood.



     Here on the left is his home and art gallery.  I was suprised how close his back door was to the ocean.



     Here is Luna, John's cat.  She lives here by the ocean all by herself with John.   It would be nice to find a female companion for my friend John.  If you are a single lady interested in John, please contact him through his website.  



     Here is John's backyard!  Pretty amazing. 



     Here is John's studio!



     I walked down to this harbor called by painters "motif number 1"  or Bradley Wharf.  I may paint here tomorrow by myself.  John is working hard wrapping business up so we can drive to Florida for a plein aire event in Wekiva.  Robert is pleased John can help drive some of this long distance. 



     The wind coming off the ocean was bitterly cold with small pieces of ice from the surf whipping into your skin.  I want to paint here anyway! 



     There are so many scenes to paint here!  Look at the small chunks of ice in the ocean.  It is hard to believe!  I am looking forward to painting here tomorrow.  I will post the results!  Have a great night.  Get out and paint!

     "Green Tug" 3x4 Sold today!  I always really loved this little painting.  I wouldn't sell this one for the longest time.  It was such a difficult painting to do!  I remember driving 3 hours to South Port.  Then I stood there for hours trying to shrink down this giant green tug boat infront on me into just a tiny painting.  Then I drove 3 hours home.  I was wiped out.  I always found myself looking at this tug.   I marveled at all of the different brushstrokes and colors.  I guess we all have our favorite paintings.  This one is flying to Pennsylvania!



     "Sand Garden" 5x7 Sold today!  This is a scene in Asticou gardens in Northeast Harbor, Mount Desert Island.  The sand is the water and the rocks signify the islands.  I remember wishing I could rake the sand!  I didn't.  I used self-control!  I think a sand garden would bring relaxation to any room!



Here is my Daisy making snowangels!  She is a pretty girl. 



     Here is Daisy and Duke playing in the snow!  Whenever I sell a painting, I buy each dog a present.  It is only fair they share in the joy of a painting sale right?   This is dog ice cream especially designed for dogs by the way.  It is called Frosty Paws doggy ice cream.  You can purchase this treat for your dog at most grocrey stores in the freezer section near the human ice cream!  Dogs really enjoy this treat!

     I am all packed and ready to drive to Massachusetts!  I had to pack arctic clothing as well as Summer clothes!  Tricky!  I should be able to blog each day!  I hope to post some interesting photos!  Thank you for the painting sales.  It seems I am blessed with painting sales just when I really need them!

Here are Duke and Daisy playing in the snow today!  We have more than a foot of new snow in a few hours.  Most of my day was spent digging out a 20 foot driveway!



As you can tell Duke on the left is feeling very good today!  Daisy is always very happy about snow!



They raced around!  They rolled all in the snow!  They played hard!



They really had a great time!  I always love to watch them play!



Duke is feeling so much better with his antibiotics and aspirin each day!  He is going to beat this Lyme and Anaplasmosis Disease!



Robert came home from work early!  Here he is with Duke.  Robert was pleased with my shoveling snow in the driveway so he could park!  I made him a big pot of lentil stew with brown rice.  Very healthy!  The wood fire is roaring!  We are all warm and happy!

     I am preparing for my trip.  I may leave Saturday or Sunday depending on this weather!  Exciting!  Have a great night!

"Pig Dreams" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel  is on display at a art gallery on Main Street in Belfast, Maine called Aarhuse Gallery.  This painting's proceeds benefit the Belfast food pantry. 

     Duke seems to be feeling great today after one day of antibiotic treatment for Lymes and Anaplasmosis Disease.  I also gave him a 325 mg aspirin.  I am so glad he is feeling better.  Daisy has been doing fine too.  No seizures! (update:  Duke has improved since his antibiotics.) 

     I am heading to Massachusetts to Bear Skin Neck on Saturday.  I will paint in Rockport.  Then I am driving to New York with John Caggiano.  We will paint at Coney Island or a another of John's favorite painting places.  Then we are continuing driving to Orlando, Florida.  We will both be participating in the Wekiva Invitational Plein Aire Event March 7-12.  There is a wonderful gala event open to the public.  Anyone can attend this dinner and opportunity to view all paintings created by the painters.  If you are interested check out the Wekiva Plein Aire Event website for information.  Here is the link:  http://www.wekivapaintout.com/

     I will be blogging about my traveling experiences!  This should be fun!

"Along Acadia" 8x10 Oil on Copper Panel. Sold.

    


"Another Maine Day" 6x8 Oil on Copper Framed and Shipped Sold



"Hunky Dory" 8x10 Oil on Copper sold!



"Gems of Thuya Garden" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel.   Framed and Shipped!

      Daisy was more tired than usual.  I gave Daisy and Duke each a raw hide bone.  Daisy took both bones and just slept with them.  She didn't have any more seizures.  Duke kept cleaning her face.  He also tried to climb up into my lap in my recliner chair!  I guess he wanted me to hold him?  It was obvious he was worried about Daisy.  



      I took both dogs to the vet today for their annual heartworm and lymes disease bloodwork.  This is always the most stressful thing I do all year long!!!  Daisy was treated for lymes disease two years ago.  Both dogs had their lymes disesase vacinne and had advantage drops for tick prevention.  The results today showed Daisy's lymes disease decreasing.  Which means her antibiotic treatment worked and the disease is decreasing. 

      Now Duke today is positive for lymes disease and another tick related disease.  I have noticed his lymph glands enlarged.  He has been having a joint pain too.  So now he is going to be treated with antibiotic for the bacteria lymes virus creates.  He will have the lymes disease still but be free of symptoms like Daisy.  Hopefully. 

     I am very glad neither one of the dogs has heartworm disease!  They take heartworm pills each month.  Duke had heartworms in 2005 in Florida.  Luckily he was treated for this disease and was cured!  My vet did a new procedure of injecting arsenic around the heart tissue.  This killed the heartworms.  I know Lymes disease is a bad disease.  It is such a common disease here in Maine.  We tried very hard to prevent this disease with neck drops and vaccines.  They sure do enjoy running around in the woods.  With all of their hair it is difficult to spot a tick.



     Here is Robert playing a game with Daisy.   They have such a great time playing peak a boo!  He covers her eyes for a moment with his hands.  Then he takes his hands away and says, "peak a boo!".  She goes crazy!  She wags her tail and put her foot up repeatedly.  Duke doesn't like this game.  He is too manly for silly games.  Maybe Duke will feel better after his antibiotic treatment! 

     Hope you are having a great Winter!  It is freezing cold here!  I am keeping an eye on Daisy!  They are going to be fine!!!

     Here is Duke when he was 6 weeks old.  I admit I purchased those tan boot just for this photo.  I knew if I put these boots down next to him I would be guaranteed a good photo.  He was such a little butter ball.  I use to carry him around alot.  He loved this. 
     Daisy had another seizure today.  About six months ago she had a seizure and now today.  It didn't last long.  Maybe two minutes.  I stayed with her while she shook.  Her eyes were rolling around.  After the seizure she stayed laying down.  She would wag her tail when I talked to her.  Duke cleaned her face.  She stayed laying down for twenty minutes.  Then I coaxed her outside on the deck.  She is very tired now. 

    It is common for older golden retrievers to have seizures.  Luckily they are not grand ma seizures.  I am going to take her to the vet to make sure her ears are not infected.  I don't think she ate anything she should not have eaten.  I am just happy the seizure stopped.  I need to have a game plan if a seizure doesn't stop.  How am I going to carry her out to the van by myself?  It is a good idea to be prepared for the worse.  Vets might make a house visit.  I will do some investigating tomorrow.  She seems fine for tonight.  I will take excellent care of Daisy and Duke as they grow old.  They have been great dogs.  

     I hope you had a beautiful day!  Don't worry about Daisy.  She will be fine.   

"January in Jeffersonville, Vermont" 6x6 Oil on Copper.  Sold

     Today I decided to do a studio painting from a photograph I took at sunrise in Jeffersonville, Vermont.  I wanted the snow to be bluer with some light greens instead of lavenders.  I wanted the whole painting to be very light.  I have painted this scene before so I wanted to paint a different composition.  I am exhausted from painting all day!  My eyes need a rest! 



     Here is a picture of Daisy before she went to sleep.  She loves this old silk pillow.  When I bought a set of these silk pillows in Florida years ago I would have never ever imagined Daisy would sleep with them each night.  She loves her beautiful pillows.  The colors of the pillows match her fur and they are comfortable.  

     Our mail lady came by yesterday to deliver a package.  She also came by to visit with Daisy and Duke!  Both dogs were thrilled to have a visitor.  They stood in line to be petted by the mail lady.  She wanted to know all about them.  After the visit Duke ran inside to retrieve a stuffed doggy toy.  Daisy and Duke ran around putting on a show for the laughing mail lady.  They were sad to see her go.  The mail lady had left her mail truck running right in the middle of Route 1.  Cars had been driving around her truck for the duration of her visit. I wonder if she might come by more often to visit?  

     Have a great night!  Get out and paint! 

"February Day on Eagle Lake" 6x6 Oil on Copper panel. Private Collection

     Today was a beautiful February Day here in Maine!  This morning I sat outside on my deck drinking hot tea enjoying the sunshine with Daisy and Duke.  They were appreciate of the milder temperatures, 45 degrees!  I packed up my painting gear and drove to Mount Desert Island to Acadia National Park!



     Here I am on Eagle Lake painting today.  An icefisherman came up to see my painting.  He liked it!  He said "Yep, you did a real fine job!  A photo would have never turned out the way it is."  I agreed with him.  I thanked him.  I asked him to take my photo.  He took two photos to make sure they came out.  He was a nice man.  I forgot to ask him if he caught any fish.  Darn!  I missed my opportunity. 



Here is my painting set up.  You can see my copper panel I have guerrilla taped to the lid of my easel.  I love guerrilla tape!  No wind can more my painting.  If the entire easel falls over, which it does often, my painting will be usually safe!



     Here are a few photos of the iceshacks and icefisherman today.  I think this is the man who took my photo.  I loved his icefishing gear in the foreground. 



     One nice thing about painting these fishshacks is the beautiful bright colors.  The shapes of the houses are each different. 



     Some of the fisherman stay inside of their iceshacks.  Some cook inside these shacks.  Once in awhile you will see a fisherman standing above a ice hole with a fishing rod.  They come out of their shacks to check their traps.



     I love this Cedar tree here.  They are so delicate and graceful!  I must paint more of these trees. 



     The sun was going down as I finished my painting.  I had such a great day today!  There is nothing like painting outside during the Winter when the temperatures are 45 degrees and there is no wind!  It is amazing how happy I am when I am painting.  It is challenging painting during the Winter months.  Tomorrow it is going to rain.  I am really glad I got out and painted!  I hope you painted outside too!

     Happy Valentines Day!  My friend John Caggiano took these photos of me in Vermont a month ago.  Here I am walking up to the gazebo where most of the plein aire painters were at. 



     I saw John taking my photo and I tripped or something!  I crashed!  Luckily snow is soft!



     I like this shot alot.  This made me laugh and I hope you are laughing too!  This would be a great advertisement for Cabela's Trans-Alaskan III Pac boots.  They are great boots.  Once you fall down in them...it is difficult to get up! 



     I really like my light blue lambs wool face mask!  It was about 10 degrees in Vermont that day! 



     Here is Paul Goodnow a fine painter and wood frame carver! Rest in peace Paul.   He was nice to help me up!  Great fun of John to continue the photos for all of us to enjoy!  



      Finally standing up again.  Paul carries my painting equipment into the gazebo!



     Here I am under the gazebo.  All I remember was feeling really cold!  I sat there for a good hour absolutely freezing.  I think some of the snow fell up under all of my gear.  I was miserable and to make matters worse I did not have my car.  I sat in Barrett Devitt's car all the rest of the day watching the rest of the painters paint!  A disaster for sure.  Stapleton Kearns suggested this last Vermont painting trip was a learning one for me.  I now have a real jacket.  

       I hope you are having a marvelously romantic evening!  I am getting out to paint in the snow tomorrow!  I am super psyched!
By the way, Daisy and Duke enjoyed more ice cream tonight!  They had a great Valentine's Day! 

   We start out walking on Sears Island's beach.



     It is thirty degrees with thirty mile per hour winds here on Sears Island.  We are walking on the old homestead trail.
There is a lot of snow on the ground.  There is a packed snow path for walking.  There are deep foot print holes made by someone so you still need to watch where you are walking.



     There are many beautiful trees lining the path.  The ocean is visible through the trees.  The colors are very silvery.
Daisy and Duke are running and sniffing all around.  Robert leads the hike briskfully.  I try to keep up.  



     There are many birch trees on Sears Island.   Giant oaks also are everywhere.  The stonewalls are hiding under snow.
There are no birds or animals visible.  It is quiet.  Every once in a while a really strong blast of Canadian air hits you.  A few times it is hard to stand up!



     In the distance snow banks are visible from Stockton Springs.  We hike a loop around the homestead back to the car!



Back at home, Daisy and Duke eagerly await Frosty Paws Ice cream! 



     Daisy on the right decides to chew up her ice cream cup and all!  Duke is slowly enjoying his ice cream!

     Thanks for the painting sales yesterday!  Daisy and Duke say "Thank you to Arthur!".  Have a great evening!
 

"On Sugar Hill" sold today! It is a 6x6 oil on copper framed in gold wood!



"Little Spruce Tree" 4x4 Oil on copper framed in gold wood.  Sold today.  These paintings are going to a collector in Maryland.  Daisy and Duke will celebrate their ice cream tonight!  I will post a photo of them later!  Right now they are sound asleep!  Robert and I took them out for a two mile hike in 30 degrees around Sears Island.  They had a great time.  As soon as they wake up, I will give them their dinner.  Then I will let them have ice cream before they go to sleep!  This ice cream sure does make them playful the next day.  I looked at Frosty Paws ingredients.  This doggy ice cream contains vitamins, chicken fat, and soy milk. 

     I took off a week from painting.   I needed to take time to look at my paintings and reflect!  I have a good friend who told me this one day, "The most successful people take time to think about their actions.  Being always active and not thoughtful of ones actions is not good."  I think she was right!  Have a great night!  I think we anticipate snow again!

     I am hoping you will help me by votiing "I Like" in a contest by Fineartstudioonline.  All you need to do, is click on this link.  Then click once you like the painting.  Only vote once or it will unlike the painting.  Also only vote for one painting for this vote to count!  Thanks!

   Http://canvoo.com/boldbrush/painting/16918   

     I sold this painting, "Le Shack on Steps Beach" 5x7 oil on copper panel last night!  I had deleted the photo from the website painting category because I didn't like the darkened sky area on the right hand side.  This little painting was framed up in a beautiful gold wood frame and shipped off to New Hampshire! 

     I told Daisy and Duke they were going to have ice cream tonight!  A glimmer of enthusiasm flashed through both of their faces!  They recognized the word ice cream!



     Here is Daisy enjoying her ice cream in the kitchen!  She was really a happy girl!



     Here is Duke enjoying his ice cream!  They are in the "Zone" when they have their ice cream.  I can tell they really appreciate this treat.  Sometimes Duke will come up to me and lick my hand once.  I think this is his way of saying "Thank you!" 

     They also told me to pass along a thank you to Jason for his purchase of this painting!  Thanks!

     Here are Daisy and Duke as puppies!  I found these photos today in the basement.  I thought you might to see these!  They were so cute and still are!  Daisy is on the left.  Duke was only 6 weeks old here chewing on boots.  This is their first day together!  They loved each other at first sight!



     Here is Daisy and Duke eating real Dairy Queen icecream.  Duke is on the right hand side.  This ice cream did not agree with their stomachs.  That is why they eat Frosty Paws doggy ice cream now. 



     Here is Daisy and Duke swimming in Captiva Island, Florida.  Duke is on the left.  He would grab Daisy's hair on her back to hang on when they were in the water.  He did this till he was 6 months old.  He liked getting a tow! I heard a little boy ask his mom why the little dog did this.  She answered, "Maybe he doesn't like to swim". 



Here are Daisy and Duke's first litter of pups!  There were 11 puppies!  They were adoreable! They had dark red, light golds, medium golds, and three platinum blondes!  So much fun.



  These are Daisy and Duke's puppies from the second litter.  This little fella with his feet in the water bowl was fun.  I had to tell his new owner about his habit of cooling off his feet.  The man did buy two water bowls.  I called him a few weeks later to check on the pup.  He laughed and said you were right about my pup cooling off his feet in the water bowl!  He said he was really happy I told him about the pup's habit.  He was delighted with his new pup.  I continued to hear from this man about his dog as the years passed by.  He really loved this little dog.  The dog also had a habit of cleaning the man's feet each night!



     Here is Duke on the right cleaning a pup.  Daisy is on the left admiring her pups.  Daisy never liked to clean the pups.  She fed them and Duke cleaned them.  Duke couldn't wait till Daisy went outside.  He loved to lay down with his puppies.  He took his job cleaning very seriously.  He would wash one side and flip the pup over and wash the other side.   They really enjoyed being doggy parents!

     It has been a long Winter!  I thought you might like a light hearted subject such as puppies!  I decided to set aside the paintings I took off my website.  I won't destroy them.  I will find good homes for each painting.  I might give them as gifts with painting purchases.  Or I may give them to children at outdoor shows!  They are decent paintings.  I am sure they will bring a little happiness to someone!  Thank you for your comments yesterday by email and posted on the blog.  It gave me a few things to think about!

Here is a painting by Sydney Laurence.  I really like his work.   This is a painting of a cottage in Alaska!

     Today I deleted 40 paintings off of my website and retired them.  I sanded off two.  Oil paint really adheres to copper!  It took a half an hour to remove oil paint from a 5x7 painting.  A painter friend of mine suggested paint stripper.  So tomorrow I will purchase a gallon of paint stripper.  I will pour some in a pan.  Then I will put a few paintings in the solution.  I will let you know how this goes tomorrow.  I wipe off many paintings after I finish painting them.  These paintings I am destroying were in my opinion not excellent.  I would like the quality of my work to continue to improve!  Quality control is important with any business! 

      More snow today!  Daisy and Duke played in the snow!  They are still enjoying their snow maze.  They howl for ice cream almost each night!  They wag their tails when they are doing this.  They know they are being naughty!  I distract them with a toy.  I take them outside to play.  Someday soon they will get ice cream!  This I know!  

 

     I have had cabin fever lately!  So I drove to North Port to see these nice little gingerbread houses.  These cottages were built as a Methodist retreat a long time ago.  There is a whole village of these cottages!


     I am not sure if you can tell how small they are.  They are very small.  There are only a few feet in between each cottage.  Some have very elaborate designs.  I think I would like to paint a series of these cottages during the Winter!



     I stayed in one of these cottages the second time I traveled to Maine.  I had met a nice lady who offered me one of her rental cottages to stay in for as long as I wanted to stay.  I stayed a few days and headed to Lubec.  It was a quiet village during the Autumn.  It was very quiet here today.  I think this village may be mostly inhabited by Summer residences. 



     I think this would make a splendid Winter painting.  I may have to come back here soon!



     Next I drove to Port Clyde.  There is nothing like a long car ride for taking photos!  My new little camera seemed to take fairly decent photos.  This driveway is off of Horse Tail Road in Port Clyde. 



     This is Port Clyde's harbor. 



     These fishhouses on the left are on a Co-Op Road.  There is a wharf at the end of this road.  The island in the distance is Raspberry Island. 



     Another photo of the harbor at Port Clyde.  I would like to stay here for a few days this Summer to paint.  There are many paintings to be painted here!



     The puppy bowl was on TV last night.  For a half and hour we all watched this show.  Various puppies were brought out so they could wrestle.  Daisy really enjoyed this show.  She barked loudly the whole time!  She charged across the room and put her foot on the TV set.  I thought the entire TV was going to crash on the floor.  Luckily it weighs more than her powerful kick. 



     Here are both Daisy and Duke watching the puppy bowl.  Duke barked a little.  But Daisy was very hands on!  She wanted to be there!  There was a lot of tail wagging.  We had to change the channel.  We decided it might not be too good for them.  After all Daisy and Duke are 11 years old!



     Here are Duke and Daisy enjoying their snow maze Robert created.  They were chasing each other.  Here is Daisy heading in.  Duke looks like he saw another skunk in the neighbors yard.  They really enjoy this snow maze.

     More snow is in the forecast tonight and tomorrow.  I may stay inside tomorrow.  I hope you have a wonderful day!  Thank you for reading my blog!  Thanks for your comments too.  I enjoy them all!

"Early Morning Snowfall" 6x6 Oil on Copper   Gifted during Christmas.

     Today I worked more on this painting. I lightened the sky and snow.  I decided I wanted an early morning scene instead of a night scene.  I think it has the feeling I was hoping to capture!

     Robert created a snow maze in our backyard for Duke and Daisy.  They were running in their maze today.  There are circles and ovals.  Sometimes Duke will meet up with Daisy and they both hop up in the area to battle!  It is always playful.  They enjoy each other! 

     I hope you had a great day!  Get out and paint!

     Today I decided to work from my computer monitor.  I saw this scene driving in New Hampshire in the middle of the night.  I think I may view snow differently than other people who have lived in New England their whole life.  I was raised in Florida so snow is a very new thing for me.  It is magical!  I think I should spend more time driving around at night and early morning.  It is these times of the day I most find interesting.  I think snow has a iridescence quality to it I would like to capture!

      Tomorrow I am going to work more on this painting. 

     We have holes in our ceiling from water coming into the side walls of our house.  Apparently when it snows a lot, houses can leak from the outside walls into the first floor.  Insurance doesn't cover this.  We are suppose to know to remove snow from the roof.  If we don't remove snow accumulation, a snow dam develops.  Water builds up and leaks into the house.  It is common to have many holes from the ceiling caving in.  People just patch up these holes with new drywall and screen material.  They repaint these areas.  Just another new thing to learn living here in Maine!  

    The first Winter we lived here in Maine, when we were camping in our Airstream in a campground, our only mode of transportation blew up because we didn't put in enough antifreeze.  Apparently the vehicles need 50% antifreeze to water ratio.  The van blew a head gasket when Robert was driving to work early one morning.  I had to get a taxi, wait for AAA to bring the van back to the campground.  Then Robert took the taxi to work.  It was only 16 degrees out that morning!  Our attitude is great still.  Most people might have thrown in the towel, loaded up the Airstream, and high tailed it back to Florida!  Not us.  

     I am sure people who move to Florida from Maine encounter problems as well.  Food poisoning, Alligator attacks, muggings, and theft of property are common everyday occurances one needs to guard against.  Sometimes finding a roach in your cereal is another not so nice thing about living in Florida.  Many people will keep most foods in their refrigerator where it will be safe!  I really dislike roaches.  I would much rather have a hole in my ceiling!

     Have a great night!  Preparing for another snow storm!!

        

     Here is painter Willard L Metcalf's painting "Maytime".  It sold at auction for 365,500$ in 1994 and 940,000 in 2006.  It is a 36x39 oil on canvas.  I was amazed at the increase of sales price between 1994 and 2006.  I love his painting style.

     Willard was born on July 1, 1858.  He first married his model, Marguerite Beautfort Haile, who was an aspiring actress from New Orleans.  She ran off with another painter a year later, Robert Nisbet.  Poor Metcalf then became depressed.  He became an alcoholic.  He was very ill. 



"East Boothbay Harbor 26x29 Sold for 330,000$ in 1992.

     Somehow Metcalf snapped out of his drinking stuper in 1903.  He decided to use lighter colors and use looser brush strokes!  His paintings got rave reviews!
 
      In 1911 he fell in love with a lady 30 years younger than him!  Henriette Alice McCrea had many boyfriends.  One of these boyfriends was a young hot looking playwright, Ned Sheldon. 

      Metcalf persued her aggressively.  She remained noncommital.  She went to Idaho to visit her brother.  Metcalf went to Newfoundland.  Finally he sent her a telegram demanding "make up her mind at once!".  She decided to marry him!  

     They were married in Chicago one year after they met.  There was a lot of gossipping going around concerning their drastic age difference.  Before Metcalf left on their honeymoon, he told his brother he had made the biggest mistake of his life! 

     Metcalf did not want any children.  He was afraid children would disrupt his freedom to travel and paint.  He also worried about the noise children made interferring with his painting.  

     They honeymooned in Cornish, New Hampshire where Henriette carried Metcalf's easel and paint box through deep snow.  She professed to being Metcalf's "willing slave".  During this two month honeymoon, Metcalf painted his most famous paintings.  It seemed he liked his young bride to carry his equipment!

     Henrietta became pregnant.  But Metcalf was ok with this.  A baby girl, Rosalind was born.  Henriette became sick and depressed.  Metcalf took off and went painting!  He came back bu didn't paint much.  As he expected the noise was very distracting.  A second son arrived.  Then Henrietta decided to take on many foster children!  Oh no!   Metcalf needed to help out with all of these children! He couldn't paint!

     Metcalf's drinking seemed to be everyday thing during their marriage.  But he was very fond of his children!  

    There was a deadly flu epidemic.  Henriette requested a flu shot and nearly died from this.  She asked her actress friend to marry Metcalf incase she died.  She refused to marry Metcalf but agreed to be a godmother.  

     Henriette had terrible news her brother had an argument with her father over money.  Her brother shot at her father.  Then he shot himself thinking he had killed his father.  Henriette was very upset and angry over this.  She asked Metcalf for a divorce.  Then Metcalf became very depressed.  I am sure he was a bit confused too?
   
     Metcalf traveled place to place and painted.  He started to drink very heavily.  In 1921 he found himself in Boston without any idea of how, when, why he got there!  Someone found him and called Albert Milch.  Milch represented his work.  He gave him an ultimatum, stop drinking or he would stop representing him. 

     Then Metcalf and Henriette were friends again  Metcalf could not keep up with her.  He became like a favorite uncle to Henriette.

     Here is Metcalf's last letter to Rosalind, his only daugher before he died:  February 5, 1925. 

     "My desk here looks like a cyclone had struck it.  Letters and bills, piled up-waiting to be attended to-and I've been so busy with my painting, I've simply put it off....I'm, as usual, ashamed at such gross procrastination, an easy habit to fall into...particularly when, like me, one has thoughts for hardly anything but making of, the giving everything in one's soul and being over to the endless effort of putting paint on a canvas with a miserable little brush-and endeavoring to make it express thoughts and dreams-that will perhaps reach out and say something to someone, something that will make wandering souls-stop-and look-perhaps awaken something in them that may make them think of beautiful things-and so perhaps happiness. 

      Oh! my dear-it's a long journey this painting game-and such a hard and continued effort demanded-if one has an ideal, such as I have, and the desire for perfection!"

     On March 9, 1925 Willard Leroy Metcalf passed away of a fatal heart attack. 



Here is Metcalf's "The Little White House" 24.10 x 24.10 (odd size) sold for 1,016,000$ in 2004!

   On a happier note:  I purchased a new camera today from Walmart called a Sony DSC-W330.  It is a 14.1 megapixel with a 4x zoom.  The price was only 126.00.  I decided to pay the 10$ for two more years of protection incase it breaks.  I know if I drop it, it won't be covered.  A painter friend who also blogs told me she has three cameras.  Blogging really does need photos.  I think the better the photos the more people will enjoy the blog.  Someday I hope to have another digital with a 24x or 30 zoom.  I do like to zoom in on animals.  So I am happy again!  My refurbished Nikon P90 coolpix only had a three month limited warranty.  So it is toast! 

     We are getting another snow storm tonight and tomorrow!  I will take photos and be painting!  I hope you enjoyed the saga of poor Willard Metcalf.  Boy!  He sure could paint! 

     I woke up this morning to find my new Nikon P 90 coolpix not working any longer.  It was lying on the floor.  Miss Daisy was sleeping near the camera but she can not be blamed.  So until I get a new camera I will post pictures from Askart.com.  I enjoy looking at paintings on this site.  They have over 429 Aldro Hibbards to view.  Here is one of Aldro Hibbard's paintings called "Winter in Vermont" it sold for 33,600$. 



"A River Bend in Winter" by Aldro Hibbard sold at auction for 22,000$.



"Moonlit Snow" by Aldro Hibbard sold at auction for 15,000.



"Village in Winter" 8x10 by Aldro Hibbard.  Sold for 9,800 at auction.



"Sleigh Ride into Town" by Aldro Hibbard sold at auction for 28,900$. 

     It is difficult to want to paint with a broken camera.  I will try to forget about it and paint tomorrow.  I will buy another camera when I make a few painting sales.  Until then I will just describe the paintings to you.  This should be interesting.  Have a great day!  Get out and paint! 

"Snow" 4x4 Oil on copper panel.  Sold.

     Today it was snowing quietly all day long.  I was looking out my window to see my backyard.  I have one little Spruce tree not even three feet tall in my yard.  I decided to sit at my table top easel and paint this tree!  I had to feed the wood fire.  Robert, Daisy, and Duke were outside!



This might make a great painting!  Daisy and Duke were romping around in the snow!  They love snow very much!



They were watching Robert shoveling snow.



Sometimes I will check on Daisy and Duke when Robert is shoveling snow.  He sometimes forgets about them.  Once I asked him, where are they?  I could tell he was lost into shoveling!  Bad!  So now I keep an extra eye out for them.  Once they see he is busy they make a run for it!



"Snow Fall" 6x6 Oil on Copper panel.  Frame in light gold and shipped for free!

     Here is a painting I did in New Hampshire at Snow Camp.  I worked for hours on this painting in 24 degrees.  I asked Stapleton how to make snow falling.  He took my brush and mixed a light grey.  He dabbed here and there.  All of a sudden the painting was snowing!  So there you have it!

     I am excited about the end of this snow storm.  I am painting outside tomorrow!  I can't wait!

     This is a photo of Sugar Hill's church at sunset.  I love this church!

     Stapleton Kearns told us a few great stories at Snow camp.  One story was about Aldro Hibbard and Emile Gruppe.  Emile Gruppe wanted to paint with Hibbard.  Hibbard didn't like to paint with anyone.  But Gruppe kept insisting they paint together.  So Hibbard gave in.  He took Emile Gruppe painting one day.  They both jumped into a car and Hibbard drove them to a country road.  Gruppe unloaded all of his painting equipment.  Hibbard had been waiting in the driver's seat as Gruppe unloaded his equipment.  As soon as Gruppe was finished unloading.  Hibbard took off yelling out the car window, "I will be back for you went the light fails!"  

     Tom Curtain lived in Jeffersonville, Vermont.  He threw out a few of his paintings he didn't like.  Emile Gruppe was driving by, picked up these paintings, and took them back to his own studio.  He worked a little on them, signed them, and sold them as his own. 



I took this photo of a bull in Vermont a few weeks ago.  It was -14 below zero and snowing lightly.  It was sunrise. 

"Franconia Notch" 6x6 Oil on Copper panel. 300$ framed in gold wood and shipped for free!

     Here is my painting of Franconia Notch, the view from the Sunset Hill Inn.  It was -10 below zero.  My new Cabelas Alaskan man's jacket was very warm.  I was able to paint each day in the snow.  I was very happy!



     Here is a photo of me with all of my Winter apparell.  Those Cabelas Trans-Alaskan III boots are the best.  I was wearing expedition weight long johns under North Face down snow pants.  I had on two layers under my coat consisting of wool sweater and expedition weight shirt.  I liked my Carhart neck thing.  I pulled it up a few times to cover my nose.  My lamb's wool face mask also could be a hat.  It was a little scratchy at times but warm. 



This is Aline and Stapleton Kearns.  He had been standing by different easels all day helpiing students.  I saw him sitting in her chair for a while.  It looked like a beach scene!  Franconia Notch in the mountain range behind them.  The third day was sunny and beautiful.  The first two days were snowing and no mountains were visible. 

Here are a few more things Stape told us:

*  He told us a story told by his teacher Ives Gamble.  Ives said when you herd sheep, you move sheep along as a whole group.  If there is a straggler far away, you go get that straggler, and throw him into the flock.  This is a sheep herder's job.  When a painter is working on a painting, he does the same thing a sheep herder does.  He works on the entire painting as a whole.  He doesn't try to finish one area and then move on to the next.  Some modern painters do this.  But Ives instructed his students to march along as a flock in painting. 

*  There are three stages of a Stapleton Kearns's painting:  I'm almost done!  I hope I'm doing this right!  This was going to be a really good painting!

*  In his painting, there is a waltz of cool and warm colors.

*  The dark accents in his paintings are warm consisting of Burnt Sienna or Cadmium Red or Black/Burnt Sienna. 

*  When Stapleton was younger he thought he could observe it all and just paint it.  He realized he couldn't.  He realized he needed to install or invent.  He has to control the painting.  He is not a truly visual painter. 

*  The best medium is NO medium. 

*  Puff O Pod is a term he created to discribe small accents of color to enliven passages.  He learned this from Anthony Cirino. 

*   Darken the bottom of houses and trees to make snow brighter. 

*  He smooths the distant mountain lines with a medium flat brush with a very light touch or tapping.

*  I asked him if he had a choice between three colors and Ivory black, Titanium white were two, what would the third color be?  He excitedly yelled out Yellow Ochre! 

*  He told us all to think of ourselves as pack mules for the duration of the workshop.  This always made us laugh. 

*  I asked Stape if he thought working with three colors as many modern painters are doing is a good idea?   He thought it best to have two hot and cool colors of each hue.  He said you need to be able to distinguish sunlit and shadow areas within a painting.

*  A colorist now means you use lots of color in painting.  In the time of Titan a colorist meant you knew how to use color well.

*  In order to keep your cat from getting hit by a car, you hold your cat's nose up to a exhaust pipe to get the cat to stay away from cars.  We all were very amused by this bit of information!

     Tomorrow I will tell you three wonderful stories about Hibbard and Gruppe! 

     We are having the storm of the century tonight and tomorrow.  Fema is getting ready.  I am a little afraid.  I have been through typhoons in Japan and many hurricanes in Florida!  I think I will paint!